Release management thoughts for Dapper Drake

[Mark Shuttleworth]

Ivan Krstic wrote:

>a good idea. I'm thinking out loud. But if we say we'll certify Dapper
>as enterprise-ready [0], e.g. exactly three months after its regular
>release, the advantages are:
>
> - no need for interference with the structure of the release cycle
>that's been established
>
> - everything's the same as usual to our personal users
>
> - we still make good on our promise that Dapper (not some later
>version) will be supported for 3/5 years - but starting from the date we
>stamp 'enterprise-ready' on it
>
> - we get a low-fuss, minimal hassle "mini-release" half-way to
>Dapper+1, getting some more media love and slashing in half the
>'apparent time to release'
>  
>
Yes, this would be a good plan if we had enough in the way of resources
to devote a team to that second-phase enterprise polish. We don't, so we
have to be more crafty than that. In future, we may have customers that
actually fund that sort of work, in which case I think this would be a
very appropriate strategy.